Complaints of School Performance

There are impediments to the maximization of organizational effectiveness strewn throughout your company. We often focus on lower personnel, blaming the schools for lower standards and youth in general for a lack of seriousness. As business owners or those charged with overall management of the organization, these are easy targets. You generally have little contact with these individuals, most of your knowledge of them comes from your management team. And of course, your management team is a pretty good one, they recognize how wonderful you are and always have your interest and the interest of the company foremost in their minds. Additionally, you’re well aware of their Herculean efforts and the wonderful ideas they generate to improve the bottom line.

But what if these are exactly the people causing the stagnation in growth and overall negative environment you’ve seen develop? New eyes should generate a wealth of new ideas. When that doesn’t occur, especially in those with backgrounds that indicate otherwise, you may have to initiate plans to stimulate creativity. And you have to open your mind to the possibility that the wonderful management team around you may be the source of the poor performance in new employees. They are the pipeline between you and your new people. Is this line clear and efficient or is it a clogged artery interfering with the health of the organization.

There are many reasons those with authority over the pipeline want to maintain the status quo. Insecure or overly ambitious individuals may feel threatened by a new person who generates a wealth of ideas. In some cases, they may present the ideas as their own. Nothing interferes with the creativity of an employee like the knowledge that their superiors take credit for their efforts. Nothing switches off the creative elements in the brain like this type of betrayal.

Perhaps new employees are not receiving the training necessary for success in their positions. It’s common knowledge that new employees are expected to hit the ground running in many cases. But regardless of technical expertise, entering a new position always requires training in the way things are done in that particular company. Those same insecure or overly ambitious managers mentioned in the previous paragraph sometimes remain indispensable by hoarding the knowledge others need to succeed. And of course, you don’t have to be an insecure person by nature to realize that middle management has become dispensable in these times of downsizing.

How do you find out if your organization is afflicted with these maladies? The managers relying on these methods aren’t going to expose themselves. And it’s often not a good idea to allow employees to evaluate their managers. This can lead to an increase in what is probably already a hostile environment. Besides, such evaluations are often viewed with skepticism, discarded as just an opportunity for disgruntled employees to take revenge on those trying to whip them into shape.

A better idea, and one that gets lip service but little else in organizations, is to make the management team responsible for the performance of their people. You could schedule regular meetings with your managers, where the positive contributions of their employees are the focus. Ask each manager to cite new ideas generated by those they supervise. Reward those managers who are adept at stimulating the creative processes in their people. Make sure a manager receives almost as much credit for an idea that originated beneath them as they do for those they create themselves.

And don’t neglect training. Ask for details on the training provided to those who aren’t performing up to standards. Let your management team know that as the gap between their knowledge and that of their employees decreases, their esteem within the organization increases. Whatever you reward, you’ll receive. Reward management for the performance of new employees, and you’ll see that maybe the schools aren’t pumping out defective product after all.

Pharmacist Jobs

There are more pharmacist jobs going round than pharmacists, an excellent scenario for job seekers. So how do you tap into this job market?

Different Kinds of Pharmacist Jobs

Pharmacists are needed wherever medicines are prepared or dispensed. Even storage of medicines should be under their supervision. The pharmacist is trained to dispense the correct dosages of medicines meeting the correct standards of purity. Non-pharmacists can make incorrect decisions on these matters, leading to serious health consequences, including danger to life.

So who stores, prepares and dispenses medicines?

• Retail Chemists selling prescription and over the counter drugs to the public


• Hospitals and Clinics dispensing medicines to their patients


• Healthcare and infusion facilities providing medication services at home or nursing homes


• Government and community centers offering healthcare and medication services


• Armed services that have their own medical departments and services

All the above establishments will thus need the services of qualified pharmacists.

Pharmacists are also needed to research and develop drugs for pharmaceutical companies, and in their sales and marketing departments. Thus the pharmaceutical manufacturers are a major employer of pharmacists.

Pharmacists work as retail pharmacists, clinical pharmacists, IV pharmacists, pharmacy managers, drug research scientists and so on. When dealing with the public, they have to be more than just medicine dispensers. They have to provide advice on the correct usage of the medicines. They might also be called upon to consult with healthcare professionals. Pharmacists thus need an ethical attitude and good communications skills in addition to technical know-how.

How Do You Become a Pharmacist?

It requires years of training to become a licensed pharmacist.

You start with about two years of study at college level in chemistry, biology, physics and other science subjects. Even after this study, you might be required to take a Pharmacy Colleges Admissions Test before you are accepted into a college of pharmacy.

Pharmacy colleges typically offer 6 year and 5 year curriculum equipping the pharmacist in formulating, preparing and dispensing medicines, as well as in other areas such as professional ethics, communicating with patients and healthcare professionals and managing a pharmacy practice.

Before obtaining the license to practice, the pharmacist will also have to undergo internship under a licensed pharmacist, and pass a state examination.

Becoming a pharmacist is thus a painstaking process, and it is no wonder that there are more pharmacist jobs going round than pharmacists seeking jobs!

The pharmacist jobs also require you to be available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Illnesses requiring medication do not go home after "duty hours" (much as we might wish them to do)!

The Pharmacist

Pharmacists are trusted persons whom patients and healthcare professionals consult. They have access to confidential information about patients. Naturally, they need to be persons who can be trusted to behave ethically and considerately.

If you meet the bill, pharmacist jobs will come looking for you!

Speaking In Public

You can make it easy if you really want to. Although there are those who would give the usual advice of attending a meeting with the famous Toastmasters in order to hone your impromptu speaking skills, this is not as necessary as being aware of yourself and the skills you could objectively define as good, better, best, or needs improvement.

If you know the level of your ability and if you feel you are ready for an actual job speaking in public, the following could be a convenient and effective means to land that speaking job you have always wanted.

Search, search, search and search

Google and Yahoo search is there to help anyone and everyone so make use of it. It is free and is also a quick and efficient way to find what you are looking for. You could enter the words, speaker jobs, or wanted speakers, in the search bar and click search.

Wait for a few seconds and opportunities will be right there at your feet in your easy beck and call. Note down the companies, organizations, or seminar conferences that you are interested in. Or follow the links. There is a definite pot of public speaking job gold to anyone who seeks it.

Patience is the key

Sometimes it happens that there are few websites that teems with jobs in public speaking. Do not lose hope. There may be an instance where you will hit a jackpot and get lucky. There is a forum for speakers that is available on the internet. You could also try to check them out. What you would call a usual good fortune might actually be your perseverance paying off.

Take notes of schedules of conferences

Usually, there are organizations who annually or semi-annually host a seminar or conference where a lot of speakers are needed. This is the perfect occasion to put your foot inside the public speaking door. The typical search for speakers normally begins about six months or eight months in advance. The best thing to do is to check out their schedules and call or communicate with the organization at that time.

Try your hand at training companies

It wouldn’t hurt if you try or at least apply. There is such a company named CareerTracks which hires speakers on a contract basis. The job requires a bit of traveling as well as the skill to be able to sell products to audience attendees. For speakers who are just starting out, this experience is a good one to actually take a crack at.

Dispenser Jobs

Dispenser jobs involve correctly dispensing medication and medical products. In addition to medicine dispensers, specialist dispensers dispense hearing aids, ophthalmic items and so on. Different kinds of training are needed for different kinds of dispensers. NVQ 2 vocational qualification is a typical requirement for pharmaceutical dispensers, for example.

Pharmacy Dispensers

Pharmacy dispensers dispense both over-the-counter and prescription medicines. Because wrong medicines or wrong dosages can have serious consequences, these dispensers have to undergo vocational training in relevant pharmacy topics. In addition to dispensing medicines, pharmacy dispensers would typically have to:

• Advise customers on symptoms and products


• Assemble prescribed items, appropriate containers and labels on receipt of a prescription


• Receive and store pharmaceutical products


• Mix medical preparations

Naturally, they need specialized training that will help them discharge these functions correctly under the supervision of a pharmacist. National Vocational Training (NVQ) certification of level 2 in pharmacy is a typical qualification demanded of pharmacy dispensers.

New pharmacy counter assistants will have to join such a course soon after accepting a dispensing job and complete the course within a prescribed period. Existing dispensers, whose competence has been attested by their employer, are exempt from this requirement.

The training program will help the trainees understand the legal and professional issues involved in dispensing medicines, including packing and labeling. For example, they will learn when and how to use childproof containers. The trainees will also be given exercises in selecting items and dispensing against prescriptions. There would typically be a project that involves the trainees selecting a large number of items in a dispensing enviroment without error. Then will come a period of probation when their performance will be observed. Licensing to work as a pharmacy dispenser will come only after this kind of rigorous training.

Even after initial licensing, they will need to be reassessed every two years or so to continue to work as pharmacy dispensers. Many developments are taking place in the field of pharmacy medicines and the dispensers would be expected to show that they are keeping up with the developments through a continuing education program.

Ophthalmic Dispensers

Ophthalmic dispenser trainees need to be taught how to use various ophthalmic equipment correctly and interpret the results. They also must learn how to assess the thickness of a lens, locate and determine its axis and perform other lens-related tasks. Frame-related topics such as determining frame size, temple length and bridge style are other topics the trainee has to master.

Finally, the trainee must learn how to fit the patient with the right lens and frames, and do required adjustments for best vision and comfort.

Hearing Aid Dispensers

Hearing dispensers test the degree and type of hearing loss, and help patients select the right hearing aid for them. The dispensers have to interpret the results provided by hearing assessment equipment, and to be familiar with hearing aid electronics and specifications. They will also have to carry out required modifications and programming to fit the aid to the hearing loss.

Hearing aid dispensers have to get trained under a licensed hearing aid dispenser, and can then sit for competency assessment examinations.

As we can see above, all kinds of dispenser jobs require specialized training and internship.

Data Entry Jobs

Data entry workers are increasing in number everyday. It is estimated that a at least 40 million individuals work at home. Experts believe that prospect for data entry homework will be sunny in the years to come.

The increases in number of data entry workers are credited largely to the Internet. The World Wide Web has created vast opportunities for many individuals, including professionals, to stay at home and work at the same time.

One of the main reasons attributed for the increase in number of data entry home workers is the actual decline of full time office based data entry people. This has lead hundreds, if not thousands of employers, to subcontract out work to workers who prefer to work at home.

Another reason why work at home jobs are popular is because most of these are not very technical and does not require extensive training. Some companies don’t even require their work at home workers to be college degree holders.

Another factor that has lead to the increase in number of data entry home workers is that employers actually get more advantage to it than hiring full time data entry worker. This is especially true for companies with a small work force. This is because outsourcing jobs actually saves these companies thousands of dollars.

Tasks sent out by companies for outsourcing to data entry home worker usually include typing documents and entering data into a home personal computer. When the job is finished, the data entry home worker will send the documents to the company through the email.

It is actually very easy to become a data entry worker. All you need is basic computer, typing, email and Internet skills. It would also be an advantage if you have basic writing and editing skills because some work at home jobs entails proofreading and editing existing document for errors and accuracy. The type of data handled by data entry home worker ranges from court processing, medical records, company profiles, among others. When it comes to equipment and software, all you need is a personal computer, a modem, a phone line or a Cable Internet or DSL subscription. But of course, the most important thing is the ability to manage your time well.

There are two system of charging for data entry work. One is to charge by the hour the other is to charge by the job. This usually depends on the agreement between the data entry home worker and the company. One can find data entry home worker position sin the different employment websites in the Internet.

Date entry jobs is not only advantageous to employers it is also ideal for some members of the labor force. Home data entry jobs are ideal for single moms and dads of babies who cannot afford to leave the house. A work at home data entry job affords the employees to crate his own timetable and not be a slave to the alarm clock. Being a data entry home worker is actually like being your own boss.

Data entry jobs can be very lucrative. In 2004 Internet business sales amounted to over $2.5 trillion with purchases of consumers products exceeding $100 billion. This growth is one of the main reasons why more and more people are considering working at home.

Engineering Job

The cheap labor costs of Southeast Asia are like a siren call to more and more US employers seeking to lower support costs and improve profits. The increasingly common trend toward outsourcing labor to countries such as India, Malaysia, and Pakistan means jobs are leaking to a part of the world where workers fresh out of college or technical school will work for pennies on the dollar compared to American workers. For the American workers, that means the bar for entry-level positions is rising or the same positions are disappearing off the map completely. What can you do to avoid losing out to offshore outsourcing??

Don't become a target.

What should you do if you find yourself facing joblessness due to outsourcing? Many would say make yourself indispensable, but is anyone ever really so valuable that they are indispensable? What makes someone indispensable in a company that has 1500 employees? Few things, but some key skills can give you an edge. Skills such as bilingualism, abilities with key or rare equipment, skills with software that is either so cutting-edge or so old that only a few can manipulate it well ¼ skills that will make you stand out in an ocean of other employees.

Move up the ladder rapidly.

Another way to deal with outsourcing is avoidance. Jobs that are outsource-able are not key positions in the first place. Therefore, the key is to rapidly move out of entry-level positions into positions that are less likely to be outsourced. Look around you. If you are in a company in an entry-level position that has 50 to 100 other people doing the exact same tasks you are doing, you may very well be in a Danger Zone for having your position outsourced. Make it your mission to get out of that huge fish barrel of low-skilled fish and into a position that can only effectively be done on home turf as rapidly as possible. Get promoted, get higher training or education, or go for a position that is more specialized.

Go smaller.

Consider changing jobs to a company that is smaller or more niche-oriented. Smaller companies generally do not outsource due to decreased cost effectiveness and often because they have a closer relationship with their customers. While offshore outsourcing may save dollars and improve stock prices, it often has detrimental effects on customer relations. Small companies cannot afford to lose customers because of poor customer service or language barriers and are therefore less likely to outsource offshore.

Go where the jobs are.

Displaced garment and textile workers in the Carolinas and other Southern states were left jobless almost overnight in the nineties when their employers moved operations to Central America or Asia. Those who did not have transferable skills or were unwilling to relocate were left floundering. Workers who thrived were the ones who learned new skills that were in demand or who were willing to move to areas where their current skills were needed.

Stay on the cutting edge of your field.

Work that is outsourced is generally grunt work that requires a labor force that is broadly skilled in the most common tasks, works with the most common applications, or can handle minimal communication coupled with heavy, repetitive-type work. There is always demand for skilled professionals who can work easily with the latest and greatest technology, who do not fear risk-taking and enjoy the challenge of development and innovation.

Will offshore outsourcing suddenly cease? Not a chance as long as the American consumer continues to demand high-end technology for rock-bottom prices. The race to maintain market share while maintaining profits, demands cheaper and cheaper labor costs. Offshore outsourcing is a solution to that problem. It behooves American engineering and information technology workers not to be a part of the problem to begin with by pursuing education and training that sets them above their offshore labor competitors and takes them out of the fish barrel of low-end, low paid support type positions. America has always been the leader in innovation and development and engineers who concentrate on those areas will always have a place in this economy.

Entertainment Industry Jobs

There are entertainment industry jobs available for just about anyone who wants to be an extra in a movie. Extras are always needed for every kind of films, and a specific look is not always required. Producers will be interested in all types of people, and though most of these entertainment industry jobs do not have speaking parts, they do give people without necessarily any type of acting ability a chance to participate.

When were young and full of ideals, we consider only the cream in the world of entertainment industry jobs and, if we feel entertainment is our calling, aim for acting, directing, or maybe writing roles. But there are also thousands of other equally important positions available, from the grips to the CGI assistants to the editors, of both the writing and the film. And this is just for the movie industry. What about those reality shows like Survivor and The Amazing Race? Take just the singers alone, how many different styles and types of entertainment industry jobs are there? There are the cruise ship singers, the piano lounge singers, the so-accused Chippendale and Karaoke performers and many more. Put another way, not every one is cut out to be a rock star or a pop icon. And again, that reference is to just one show, one niche in the industry, one genre, one example of millions possible.

That's just television alone. Theres also film, music, theatre, etc. Then think about the entertainment industry jobs within subordinate yet collaborative niches: take for instance, what besides Survivor or any other hot shows, is one of the biggest selling events on Television? Football! Cheerleaders, Announcers. This makes us think of newscasters, maybe camera men, then what about those special effects professionals. Come up with your own associations list. While you are doing that, remember the execs, the emcees, the paper-pushers, the makeup artists, the go-cart mechanics and caterers, etc. I will round up a couple more sources for entertainment industry jobs.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics features entertainment industry jobs, and discusses and describes the job duties, the trends, the requirements, and much more for thousands of jobs. (Their site, bls.gov, reminds me of other entertainment industry jobs, like amusement park attendants and entertainers, hotel work, museum work, etc. etc.!)

Go through the entertainment industry jobs boards as well. Many have a database of information and resources to help you define, determine, and decide what to go for. Some will require a couple of dollars, while others may offer a free trial period.

While you're at it, check up the union - the union websites like screenwriters guilds, etcl. You will certainly end up finding a huge or tiny but imperative position!